For Immediate Release

Top Event: Hamburg Cruise Days, Blue Port Celebrate Cruise Tradition and Landmark Harbor.

Parade of Luxury Cruise Ships, Port Illumination, and the World of Cruise Liners to be Showcased On and Off the Elbe River.

Hamburg / Los Angeles, June 18, 2012 — Cruise enthusiasts get a close look at some of the world’s most spectacular cruise ships, when international luxury liners parade up the Elbe River during the 3rd annual Hamburg Cruise Days and Blue Port celebrations. The highlight of Hamburg’s 2012 summer events calendar, the festival unfolds August 17-19, 2012, on and along the river Elbe, spotlighting the Hanseatic city’s long standing cruise and maritime tradition. Its landmark harbor is one of the busiest in the world and its Cruise Center the port of call for more than 160 cruises and 400,000 passengers annually, including many North Americans.

Stars of the Hamburg Cruise Days Parade will be the AIDAluna and AIDAmar (AIDA Cruises), the DEUTSCHLAND (Peter Deilmann), the MS Astor (TransOcean), the MS Columbus 2 (Hapag-Lloyd Cruises), and the MSC Lirica (MSC Cruises). The parade will be accompanied by a fleet of smaller passenger vessels.

Literally lighting up the Elbe River and the harbor, light artist Michael Batz’s breathtaking Blue Port installation will plunge the port, the waterfront, and Hamburg’s most attractive landmarks in a magical blue light, linking the city and river, cruise ships and visitors. Starting the week before the Hamburg Cruise Days kick off, Blue Port will turn the waterfront into a sensuous spectacle every evening after dark

The Cruise Days officially set sail on the water, when a fleet of boats takes the party out on the river Elbe for the Cruise Night. On land, the festival offers a three-day program of cruise ship entertainment on several stages, culinary delights by Hamburg’s top chefs, arts and crafts, and a historic nautical market.

Voted “the world’s most beautiful port entrance” by the guests of Celebrity Cruises, the Hamburg harbor is the only port worldwide, which is located directly in the inner city. A mere 10-minute walk from downtown, the harbor is a popular scene for cruise ship spotting, and the stage for a score of large-scale events and celebrations, including the joint docking of theQueen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth on July 15, 2012, and the annual Harbor Birthdaybash each May. As the world’s largest launching dock, the Hamburg harbor also features spectacular ship christening ceremonies, witnessed by local and visiting cruise enthusiasts.

Hamburg is port of call for 25 shipping lines and over the last decade has developed into one of Europe’s focal points for the cruise industry, boasting double-digit increases in passenger numbers and departures.

Special Cruise Days packages can be booked through Hamburg Tourismus, and include two overnights, a Hamburg Card, and a trip up the Elbe River aboard a vintage steam boat in the cruise ship parade (from Euro 309). Upgrade to five-star accommodations and an all-inclusive sailing experience aboard a historic schooner starts at Euro 379. Hamburg Tourismus, or at p/+49 (0) 40 300 51 300.
Information at Hamburg Cruise Days and Hamburg Tourismus.